This invention relates to a fire starter construction, a method of making a fire starter, and a package construction for use in packaging of fire starters.
Fire starters in the form of a block of wax and wood particles are known. This type of fire starter is generally rectangular in cross-section, and is provided in blocks of predetermined lengths. The block is placed below a quantity of material to be burned, such as charcoal or wood, and is ignited using a match or other flame source. The wax and wood particles burn to ignite the charcoal or wood. While this type of fire starter generally functions to ignite such material, it is disadvantageous in that a relatively large quantity of fire starter material must be used to generate a sufficiently intense flame for a long enough period of time to ignite the material to be burned. Further, fire starters of this type are cumbersome to package and sell at the retail level.
It is also known in the prior art to provide a metal platform onto which wood chips are placed. The chips are either coated with wax or impregnated with a combustible fuel. The platform is provided with openings, and is placed onto a supporting surface, such as the floor of a fireplace. The chips are then ignited, and burning of the chips ignites the fireplace logs. Again, this generally functions to ignite a fire, but is disadvantageous in its requirement of a separate metal platform which must be recovered from the ashes before subsequent reuse in igniting a new fire. In addition, the intensity of the flame generated by burning of the chips is often insufficient to ignite fireplace logs.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a fire starter which is extremely simple in its construction and operation, yet which provides highly satisfactory performance in igniting combustible material such as charcoal or logs. Another object of the invention is to provide a method of making a fire starter which is likewise relatively simple, yet which results in a fire starter providing a high level of performance. A further object of the invention is to provide a fire starter packaging arrangement which efficiently and economically packages fire starters for sale.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a fire starter construction provides a mass of solid combustible material having an aperture therethrough. The fire starter includes support structure which supports the mass of material above a supporting surface, such as the floor of a fireplace or the lower grate of a grill. The support structure includes one or more air spaces located below the mass of material, for providing flow of air to the aperture during combustion of the mass of material. The mass of material consists of a mixture of wax and wood particles, and is formed to a closed shape. The aperture extends substantially through the center of the closed shape defined by the mass of material. The mass of material is formed to provide an outer veneer layer, consisting primarily of wax, which defines the outer surfaces of the mass of material. The wood particles are distributed throughout an inner portion of the mass of material, located inwardly of the outer veneer layer. The mass of material is formed by placing a quantity of wax and wood particles into a mold while in a flowable state, and subjecting the quantity of wax and wood particles to pressure exceeding approximately 250 psi, preferably 700 psi to 800 psi. The mass of material is then solidified. The mass of material is preferably in the form of a ring-shaped member, and the support means is in the form of two or more spacer elements formed integrally with the ring-shaped member and extending downwardly therefrom for supporting the ring-shaped member above the supporting surface. The spacer elements are spaced from each other to define passages therebetween, for providing flow of air to the aperture during combustion of the ring-shaped member. Each spacer element defines a substantially flat lower surface for placement on the supporting surface, and an inverted conical wall extending upwardly from the flat lower surface. The spacer elements are interconnected together by connecting portions of the solid combustible material, and the connecting portions are preferably provided with an inverted triangular cross-section. The spacer elements and the connecting portions cooperate to define a substantially planar upper surface on the ring-shaped mass of material.
The invention further contemplates a method of making a fire starter. The method involves providing a mixture of wax and wood particles in a flowable state, and forming the mixture to a shape providing an upper mass of material having an aperture therethrough, and one or more spaced downwardly extending support portions. The mass of material is preferably formed to a shape as summarized above. Thereafter, the mass of material is solidified. The step of forming the mixture of wax and wood particles is carried out by placing the mixture into a mold having a cavity with a shape corresponding to the final desired shape of the mass of material, and subjecting the mixture to pressure within the mold cavity in excess of approximately 200 psi. Preferably, the mixture is subjected to pressure in the range of 700 psi to 800 psi, which functions to cause the wood particles in the mixture to migrate inwardly from the mold surfaces to form the outer veneer layer consisting primarily of wax, as summarized previously.
The invention further contemplates a package for a plurality of fire starters constructed as summarized above. The package includes a substantially tubular container having a bottom wall and one or more upstanding side walls defining an internal cavity. A plurality of fire starters are placed within the internal cavity in vertical stacked relationship such that the apertures in the fire starters are aligned with each other. A retainer is placed through the aligned apertures in the fire starters to retain the fire starters in alignment with each other within the container cavity. The container defines an open end opposite the bottom wall, and a cap member is engageable with the container at its open end to enclose the container cavity after placement of the fire starters and the retainer therein. In a particularly preferred arrangement, the retainer consists of a rolled sheet of printed instructions. The upstanding wall of the container is preferably formed of a transparent material, so as to allow visual access to the fire starters within the internal cavity of the container.
Various other features, objects and advantages will be made apparent from the following description taken together with the drawings.